US-led coalition: 1,257 civilians killed in anti-IS strikes

March 28, 2019

An Islamic State militant flag, foreground ,lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz, Syriaon Saturday, March 23, 2019. The elimination of the last Islamic State stronghold in Baghouz brings to a close a grueling final battle that stretched across several weeks and saw thousands of people flee the territory and surrender in desperation, and hundreds killed. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition says more than 1,250 civilians were killed in 34,038 airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria during a more than four-year period.

The coalition in a statement Thursday released the civilian death toll from the period between when the aerial campaign began in August 2014 until February this year.

It comes just days after the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced it defeated IS in the last area it held in Syria in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border.

The coalition’s statement says: “We continue to employ thorough and deliberate targeting and strike processes to minimize the impact of our operations on civilian populations and infrastructure.”

It said the death toll was based on information available to the coalition.